an ever-fixèd mark
by tafih.triple.threat
Summary: Ten days in the course of ten years. Two people. One friendship. Wally West/Linda Park, not necessarily anti-Spitfire.
1. Day 7

**Sonnet 116**

_Let me not to the marriage of true minds_

_Admit impediments. Love is not love_

_Which alters when it alteration finds,_

_Or bends with the remover to remove._

_O no, it is an ever-fixèd mark_

_That looks on tempests (and is never shaken;_

_It is the star to every wand'ring bark,_

_Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken._

_Love's not time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks_

_Within his bending sickle's compass come:_

_Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,_

_But bears it out even to the edge of doom._

_If this be error and upon me proved,_

_I never writ, nor no man ever loved._

~William Shakespeare

* * *

**DAY 7 – Never Shaken**

* * *

The year is 2016.

* * *

**APRIL 22, 12:30 PDT.**

Olsen Strip Mall in Palo Alto, California. In front of CoffeeHut, a worldwide coffee house chain, two people are quarreling.

One has lemon bits in his hair and the other is crying. That's a bit confusing. So let's start a week prior to the incident.

* * *

**APRIL 15, 16:25 PDT, FRIDAY**

"I have to take Art?" Wally West nearly shouts at his college advisor who winces at the sudden volume. "Dr. Lee," the speedster continues. "I'm a Physics major. Why on earth would I have to take art?!"

"Mr. West," murmurs the weathered Korean professor from his spot in his large leather swivel chair, "This University requires at least 2 credits in Art for graduation. This _is_ a liberal arts college, after all."

Wally immediately regrets trying to get a liberal arts degree.

But it was his fault. He knows that.

_He _insisted that he and Artemis attend the same school and Palo Alto had the only college on the West coast that offers majors in Physics for him and Criminal Law for her. _He _insisted that they live as far away from the Happy Harbor and anything dealing with the Justice League as possible. _He _insisted and he knew.

"I know this is a difficult time for you. And I want to remind you that the possibility of you taking the rest of the year off is completely acceptable considering the circumstances."

Wally glances off to the side, his brows furrowing.

Mrs. Nguyen-Crock informed the school a couple weeks ago about the (supposed) passing of her daughter. The whole Counseling Center chased after Wally until that point. In fact, the lack of a shrink in his advisor's room surprised him.

"No." Wally mutters. "Artemis would have wanted this. And there's only 3 months left. She would've wanted me to finish."

Really meaning, that she (Artemis) wants (present tense) him to graduate no matter what. She made a point of it before she went on her "suicide" mission.

The professor leans over to uncharacteristically place a comforting hand on Wally's.

Wally cringes on the inside. He hates this.

Thoroughly.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Art's the only requirement I have left?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Is there a quarter class that I can take for that?"

"Hmmm, here's a list of quarters you can take that will satisfy the requirement."

The Physics professor gingerly takes a sheet of paper off of his desk and hands him it to him.

"Thanks, Dr. Lee." Wally says as he takes it and quickly scans over the various courses.

ART 202 Painting. '_No, I can't even finger-paint well.'_

ART 204 Community Art. '_The hours conflict. So no_.'

ART 307 Survey of Religious Art. '_**Hell**__ No._'

"I highly recommend the Photography and Culture class, it's an experimental course," Dr. Lee mutters.

Wally looks down to the 5th listing on the paper. It seems reasonable enough. _'Photography couldn't be that hard. Could it? And who doesn't understand culture?'_

"I can do the hours."

"Great. I'll take care of it for you. Will you be fine if you start on Monday?" He asks as he swivels his chair towards his desk to handle the logistics on the computer.

Wally releases a slow "Yeah" in response.

* * *

**APRIL 18, 14:00 PDT, MONDAY**

Wally saunters over to the Art Department, not looking forward to the class at all. Actually walking into the room makes the feeling even worse.

Why?

He's the minority. "Minority" meaning that he was the only Caucasian male in the room. Filled with every other race other than his own, the art class of only 12 _female_ students stares him down. He notices another defining characteristic of his new art class.

"Hipsters." He mutters bitterly. He had hoped those had died out with the fad 3 years ago. '_Great_. _I should have seen that one coming. It __**is**__ an art class.' _He thinks to himself.

"Wally West?" a demure woman with spectacles and a quirky sweater vest asks. Definitely the prof.

Wally nods.

"Welcome to Photography and Culture!"

"...Thanks."

"Lucky for you, we haven't gone too far in course material and don't worry about making up last month's assignments. We just want this to be a comfortable environment that fosters artistic inspiration and expression." the professor smiles at him.

Wally forces a half-smile back.

"Yeah." He takes a syllabus from her and finds a seat in the back.

The lecture remains interesting enough for a meager span of 7 minutes. Only 73 to go.

Dr. Tanaka, who – not all that surprisingly – is Japanese, divulges a brief history of Hispanic art and its translation into an American context. With a slight and slow accent, she pronounces each English and Spanish word purposefully.

'_Why am I here?_' Wally moans silently and slouches into the chair almost until his chin is level with desk portion of the chair. Soon those questions turn into '_I am going to die.'_

Eternity passes and the clock finally clicks into "3:20."

Everyone rises; the sound of shuffling papers and zipping backpacks overpowers the last couple comments Dr. Tanaka makes on Frida Kahlo.

"Don't forget! You and your partners need to have the rough drafts of your projects turned in by next week!"

Wally pauses as he is about to cross the threshold to his freedom. He spins on his heels and takes a few steps toward the professor.

"There's a partner project?"

"Yes, a fairly big one. One that requires you to use environment as your inspiration! 35% of your grade."

Wally's mouth almost drops to the ground. "But I just –"

"Oh, yes. There is the problem of your partner. Well..."

'_It's more of a problem of me actually wanting to do it._' He inwardly groans.

"Oh, I know! I can pair you with my T.A. She's a wonderful girl. Here for graduate studies."

"In art?"

"Oh no, in Journalism and something else _strange._ Criminal Minds was it?"

"Criminal Justice? Criminal Minds was a show that ended a couple years ago."

"Oh ho," she laughs slowly and nods just as slowly. "How about I give you her email. Hmm?"

"Sure."

Dr. Tanaka grins at him, her eyes folding into perfect little slits. She hums as she takes out a scrap piece of paper and scribbles down a slur of letters.

'_Great_.'

* * *

**DAY 7**

'**Are you here yet? I'm standing in front of CoffeeHut.' **Linda types into her XPhone 9 while tapping her foot impatiently.

The California air swelters around her. She's too used to Midwestern weather. She glances behind her at the CoffeeHut and its glorious air-conditioned rooms behind her. She eyes the poster on its glass walls saying: "Think Coffee & Co. is better? Try an espresso shot for free and figure it out for yourself!"

Then she glances dejectedly at her tumbler that had their competitor's label pasted on it in huge letters. '_It's not my fault I worked at Coffee & Co_.' she says to herself as she takes a sip. '_Why am I so concerned about this? I should just go in and sit in the AC. It's a free country...yeah, I'm going to...nooo...I'm not. I'm the type of person who buys fries at a burger joint just to use their bathroom. Ugh, why am I so polite? Why do I have to be Asian in this capacity? Why is it always so hot in California? Summer everyday is fine but gosh the heat is going to kill me before my advisor does._'

She looks down at her tumbler full of Lemon Honey tea. Maybe that was the reason for her heightened temperature. But she could not go without a day without this tea. This tea made her happy. It made life worth living. Whenever she would take one sip of this sweet nectar of life she would feel as though making the decision to TA an art class while taking two graduate courses in Journalism and Criminal Justice wasn't too horrible of an idea.

"Park?"

Linda spins around to see a familiar face. Her eyes widen. "West?!" She taps the send button.

Wally approaches her with skepticism and forced adherence to the societal convention of making small talk.

"Why are you in California?"

"I'm -," The sound of Wally's text tone interrupts her. She makes the connection as he pulls out his phone. With a humored smile, she extends her hand to him. "I'm your TA, Mr. 'wallman-at-jlu-dot-com'."

Wally half-heartedly returns the humored smile, while trying to forget the fact that he still uses the email address he made in the ninth grade and shakes her hand.

"I didn't give you my name, did I? Ms. 'kyungah-park-at-keynote-dot-com'. Since when do you go by your Korean name?"

"Since I dumped Rick." She explains.

"...Oh."

"Yeah," she chirps.

"How is he?"

Linda shot him a piercing look. "I just informed you that I dumped my now ex-fiancé and you're asking me 'How is he?' ?"

"Excuse me for trying to make conversation." Wally retorts angrily, leaning in for emphasis.

"Well, I see that you haven't outgrown your relapse into immaturity." Linda frowns.

"Well, I can see that you haven't outgrown your I-am-better-than-anyone-and-anything attitude."

She scoffs and takes a sip of her tea. "How Artemis fell for a guy like you, I cannot understand."

"Artemis died." Wally spits back with complete derision. Linda's face freezes in horror and she faces him with wide eyes.

Her hand quickly goes up to cover her open mouth.

Wally glances away angrily towards the ground, upset that he had to resort to lying to get the upper hand in a juvenile argument.

"West. I – umm. GAH." Linda stares at him woefully. "I'm sorry. I really am," she continues, "I didn't know and if I did I would _not_ have said that. I really am sorry."

"Sure you are." he says curtly then turns to walk away from her. Obviously, he didn't mean any of that but he wasn't going to forgive her.

She didn't _deserve_ his forgiveness, walking around thinking that she was better than everyone.

He felt horribly justified as he stalked down the sidewalk.

"새끼야!" Wally hears Linda scream from behind him, then felt a thud to the head and lukewarm liquid flowing from his hair.

He paused, having the realization slowly dawn on him that his TA had just thrown her tumbler full of tea at his head.

"She didn't." he tells himself as he touches his hair to make sure. She did. He glowers and whips himself around, ready for a verbal and maybe even physical confrontation. But she beats him to it.

"Look here, you arrogant carrot-top! I gave you an olive branch – and I meant it – and you threw it on the ground and spat on it, you 바보."

"I really don't appreciate you using another language to insult me. I actually know some Korean and you-"

"I'M. NOT. DONE. YET."

He quickly becomes silent.

"Frankly, West, if you think that your girlfriend dying is the worst emotional pain that you could ever go through – you're wrong."

Wally performs a double take.

"Do you really think that you're the only one who deals with that kind of stuff? You know you aren't and you know what I went through. You…YOU…You didn't have a 6th grade boy you tutored jump off a building because his traditionalist Korean parents couldn't accept a C-minus. You didn't have to lie to your grandmother about her cancer slowly killing her. You didn't have to see your best friend slit her _wrists..._ right in front of you. You didn't have to hold her as she-,"

Her voice breaks and Wally's pride and soul crumble along with it. She grasps the warm California air with desperate hands and almost instantly, the warm California air becomes frigid.

Linda breathes deeply and perseveres to mutter out the rest of her tirade. "You didn't have to hold her body as she stopped breathing and as her baby… cried..." she stops, unable to say anymore. She looks up from her grief and glares at him with her dark almond eyes filled with tears. "You aren't the only one who deals with death. You -,"

She reaches the precipice and it's too much. She breaks again and tears start to flow.

She and Wally stand in a complete stupor, both caught off guard by her crying.

'_She didn't even cry at her funeral._' Wally thinks to himself as he quickly and surprisingly (to himself, mostly) wraps his arms around her in an awkward but comforting embrace. The cold air slowly dissipates with the sudden warmth.

He doesn't say anything.

He couldn't. He knew that.

His eyebrows furrow at the thought. No matter how much he justified his actions, he had nothing over Park now with this random confession of hers. He didn't have the right to treat her as rudely as he had. After all, Artemis was still alive. In fact, everyone he held close was alive and well, despite dancing dangerously close to death. All his problems remained with the living. Linda, on the other hand, dealt with so much death and yet could live life as she has.

"God. This is embarrassing." Linda murmurs as she wipes her tears away with one hand and gently pushes Wally away with the other.

"Park..." he grabs his hair, remembers that it's wet and tries to think of something else to say.

"Please don't say 'I'm sorry'. That's my line." She smiles weakly. "You can apologize for being rude, though."

He attempts a smirk. "That's what I was about to do."

Then a silence descends upon them and Linda runs her hand through her long dark hair. They both glance to and fro, noticing that they obtained curious glances with his tea hair and her sobbing.

Water water.

Wally blushes sheepishly and half-expects Linda to do the same, but instead she glowers at their observers, forcing them to turn their glances elsewhere.

Linda Park does not blush. But she doesn't cry either.

"You're not a typical Korean girl, huh?" Wally asks.

Linda then focuses her glower on him, wondering whether or not to disregard his slightly racist and sexist comment. She decides not to open another can of worms and starts pushing him down the street while stating: "Let's get out of here."

* * *

A couple hours later, they sit on a park bench and flip through the photos on Linda's camera.

"That's a good one." Wally comments on the one they took at a nearby Chinese restaurant.

"West." Linda's tone suddenly acquires a seriousness that catches Wally off guard. "Can I ask what happened to her?"

"To who?"

"...Artemis?"

"Oh. Well." Wally huffs. He meets Linda's concerned and confounded gaze as his thoughts scatter. '_God. I really don't want to have to lie anymore._ _Everyone keeps treating me differently and it kills me_ because she isn't even dead."

"What? Wait...wait. What?!"

His eyes go wide.

"Did I just say that aloud?"

She just blinks.

He blinks back and makes a mental note to work on keeping his mouth shut while mentally listing the horrible implications of that one little slip-up.

'_Try getting out of this one alive, you idiot._' Wally scolds himself. "She's um...ugh." He turns away from her, trying to piece together a believe excuse for his words but he blanks.

"Sh**." He mumbles out.

"Wally…"

He doesn't dare look at her, see her judging eyes. But the warm and comforting sensation of her hand appears on his shoulders and he relents.

She gazes into his darkened lime-colored eyes and showed him how serious and sympathetic she was.

"…I know that it's hard and I know that you want to keep her alive as much as possible but…" She begins, earnestly.

'_She thinks I'm seeing Artemis. She thinks I'm crazy.' _Wally realizes and cannot contain his laughter.

His reaction confuses then peeves Linda who gravely attempted to act as counselor. But then she realized that such a reaction might mean that Artemis may actually be alive. His statement may not have been a sign of delusion. Her hand retracts from its position on his shoulder.

"Is she really alive?" she asks. Strangely, rather than feeling betrayed by the fact that he lied, Linda feels ecstatic. But more than anything, Linda feels curious.

"…"

"If you can't tell me, that's fine…I just want to help."

"I…" He stares off, his heart heavy from thinking about the implications of telling someone, from the previous burden of keeping such a secret, from putting his girlfriend in danger. But those burdens became too much. He cannot contain them within his deteriorating heart. And he cannot rely on anyone. He was alone.

So here he sits on a bench with a person who knows of death, willing to share his burden.

But was he willing to share?

Yes. He wanted to share, _desperate_ even – though he would never admit. He needs to tell _someone. _He needs a friend to rely on.

"You cannot tell anyone."

She nods.

"She was caught up in some supervillian incident and had to be put in the… Witness Protection Program. Had to fake her own death too… I'm the only one who knows."

"Not even her mother knows?" she asks.

"Yeah. And it's killing me. Do you know how awful I felt when I had to tell her?"

"She must have been ruined."

"That's an understatement!" He throws his hands up into the air. "I can't – I can't comfort her with the fact that her daughter is actually alive! I can't contact Artemis to see if she's ok. I can't do anything. I can't even talk to anyone about it!"

"...You're talking to me."

Wally stares at her in wonder, a great burden and heaviness suddenly released from his downtrodden shoulders. She simply smiles back and takes his hand.

"And you can always talk to me."

As the warm California wind whispers around them, a sense of comfort fills him. A sense he had not felt in a long time so he takes her up on that offer.

* * *

They exchange phone calls every week or so. Soon enough, they talk to each other every night. They talk about Artemis, about movies, about food, about death, about life.

"Will you be able to sleep?" Linda asks one night as she crawls onto her futon while she balances her phone against her ear with her shoulder.

He just had a breakdown and it took her a good 2 hours to calm him down.

"Maybe. Did you know that I still sleep on my side of the bed?"

"I figured as much."

"I just keep hoping that she'll be there next to me in the morning."

"Yeah. I know what you mean. When Manami…left…I would sit at her kitchen table, waiting for her to appear..." she sighs deeply through the phone. "But at least you have the assurance that she's alive and well."

"I guess." _'But not really. Every minute of every hour of every day, she's putting her life in danger to perform a mission that I cannot and will never approve of. _Park?"

"Hmm?"

He hears her stifled yawn and the click of her lamp shutting off.

"Thank you." He whispers.

"For what?" Another yawn.

"For listening... despite being obviously exhausted."

"I'm not that tired." She lies as she yawns again.

"Sure." He laughs, "You know, I would probably be shipped off to Arkham right now if it weren't for you."

"West, I'm just thankful that you trust me enough to tell me all of this...besides, it's the least I could do. _And_ I still feel indebted to you for punching Randall all those years ago."

He conjures up the image of knocking out the jerk and chuckles softly. "Yeah."

"And have I thanked you enough for setting up that internship with your Aunt?"

"I think so considering that tou thank me every time we talk. You know, it really isn't that big of a deal. She was looking for someone to help out at the station while she's on maternity leave."

"Mmmm...oh, really quick, do you know a kid named Bart?"

* * *

That last phone call ended with Wally fuming and telling her that he would call her back.

But he doesn't.

Instead, three weeks later, Artemis calls her with news that Wally had died.


	2. Day 2

**DAY 2 – Whose Worth's Unknown**

The year is 2011. Chicago, Illinois.

* * *

**NOVEMBER 4, 14:25 CST, FRIDAY**

The crisp Chicago air bit with a vehemence that only those in the northern Midwest know intimately.

A college campus. A college tour.

Wally West straggled behind the tour group while his parents talking eagerly with the guide. He, on the other hand, was bored out of his mind. He lingered at a statue of the founder, contemplating as to why a bronze statue could actually look happy with pigeon poop on his head.

_'Interesting.'_

He looked back to rejoin the group but realizes that they've gone from view.

_'Crap.'_ Wally said to himself. He sighed in frustration, releasing a visible puff and slouched the upper half of his body.

An Asian student walked past him, books nestled into her front. Her stride is quick and purposeful. She's late for a class. But his figure caught her eye and she glanced towards his direction, slightly unnerved by his awkward posture. But then recognition overtook her expression. She stopped and returned to him.

"Do I know you?" she asked, an expression of bewilderment on her face.

"..." He recognized her and his face lit up with sudden realization. "Hey!" His mind, without meaning to, conjures up the image of their first meeting and the accompanying emotions. How he felt consumed by the spark in her brown almond eyes. How he felt when she insulted the crap out of him.

"Yes! Oh gosh...where was it?!" She clutched the hair besides her foreheads, trying to force her cerebrum and hippocampus to remember where they met.

"At my high school ...in Central City. You're Manami's friend." He came to her rescue.

"Missouri! Right. You were the-," she cuts herself off, realizing that what would have come out of her mouth would have been rude. "You were very friendly."

Wally rolled his eyes at his past self and admittedly nodded.

"So what brings you to the Messner-Loebs University*? You're not here to visit Manami, are you?"

"No. College tour." He shrugged.

She nodded in understanding but bewilderment suddenly covers her face again. "Wait...how old are you?"

"I turn 17 next week exactly." He flashed a smile.

"Senior?"

"Junior."

Then, she cracked a smile and Wally, in turn, acquired the expression of bewilderment.

"I'm only a year older than you." She stated proudly. "And I'm already a freshman in college."

He scowled. His man pride points lowered significantly.

She grinned and took a glance at her watch. Her eyes widened and she began to run off, shouting an explanation that her class started minutes prior. He raised his eyebrows in indifference and waved a good-bye but before he put his hand back into his pocket, she u-turned and ran back.

"If you came by this way, the next stop of the tour is the Sports Center thataway. It's fairly big so they should still be there."

"Thanks." Wally smiled, tentatively, at the prospect of no longer being lost and at the fact that the girl who was harsh to him when they first met was actually being pretty nice now.

Her next words supplemented that sentiment even further. "And I know I was a bit of a – for lack of a better word – a b**** to you when we first met. Sorry." She said so matter-of-factly that it shocked him.

People never apologized to him. Never.

"No problem, babe." He replied, without much thought. He mentally slapped himself as soon as the words come out and he sees her incredulous facial response. Old habits die hard.

She sneered, but indicated that she was humored, and ran off again, leaving behind a some-what anxious Wally.

A couple minutes later, Wally met up with his parents at the Sports Center, where they showed no surprise in his getting lost.

"That's our son for you," his dad laughed at his expense. The rest of the tour group chuckled and the guide led them off again. Wally smirked and pulled out his cellphone. He quickly scrolled through his most recent calls and tapped on Artemis' name as he followed behind the tour group again.

"Wally?" Artemis' voice filtered through the phone.

"Hey, beautiful. How are you doing?" Wally replied.

"Wally...I'm kind of busy right now. Can I call you back?"  
"Well! I just ...I just wanted to know if we could meet up tomorrow? We'll need to meet in the evening, though. My folks want me to stay in the car with them instead of me running back. So I'll need to go back to Central before I head to Gotham."

"I'm busy tomorrow night. I told you. I have a huge paper due next week and I was planning on meeting up with M'gaan."

"Yeah...but..."

"God. What is it Wally?" Artemis seethed through the phone line, obviously exasperated.

A great weight burdens his heart.

"I just…I…" was all he could mutter. Then he got mad. He didn't even know why but an overwhelming deluge of anger crashed over him and he started t shout. "Why do you have to be so…AUGH! Are you PMSing?"

…

He still hasn't learned. And he immediately regrets it.

"Wally! You are such a bastard, you know that?"

Before he can say anything witty or insulting in response, she hangs up. Not even able to feel angry or guilty, he again realized that he lost the tour group. He whipped around until he saw the tail end of the group walk behind a building to his right. He followed, begrudgingly, until they finally returned to the Admissions Office.

"Wally!" His dad called out to him after the tour. "They're holding a mixer for prospective freshman later tonight. You should go. We can shack up with the Jensons. You remember them?" he laughs out excitedly as he referred to their family friends and former neighbors.

"Yes, Dad." Wally mutters as he grinded his teeth, recalling the corny and socially awkward family and his relief when they moved to the Chicagoland area two years ago. "And please don't say 'shack up' in public."

"Honey, he was planning on surprising Artemis tomorrow." His mother retorted.

Wally tensed up. "Had." He emphasized. "She...has plans."

"Oh, well then that works out, doesn't it?" she chirps happily, not catching the bitterness in his tone or face.

All he can do was nod.

* * *

**NOVEMBER 4, 20:05 CST, FRIDAY**

Wally walked towards the campus gymnasium where he can hear the noises of socializing and dubstep music reverberating at an annoyingly uneven beat. He trudged toward the doors to the atrium and noticed a familiar figure reading a book at the ticket table.

"Hey," he forced from his lips, advancing towards the table. The anger from his earlier interaction with Artemis still permeated his thoughts.

Linda Park looked up from her reading and smiled. "Hey! You're an hour late. Missed an intellectually-stimulating introduction to this so-called 'mixer'." She used air-quotes. "It's all grinding and booze in there now."

For an instant, he forgot that his anger was towards Artemis and focused it on this silly event. "Why is it called a mixer? And who uses 'mixer' nowadays?"

"Eh, it's just a cover name for an on-campus party and endeavors in pedophilia. If you hadn't noticed that already."

He cringed at her comment on pedophilia and she just smirked in response. "Why…?"

"You and all the other 'guests' are underage while the 'hosts' tend to be not-so underage. So, in a word, pedophilia."

"Hardly… and that's a crude way to put it."

"C'est la vie." She pulled a clipboard from the corner of the table over her book. "Name?"

"Wally West." He replied, ambivalent about what he thinks about her inherent insistency to forget his name or who he is.

She crossed out his name from a list he assumed is a list of the names of the perspective freshman she received from the Admissions Office.

"Have fun." She returned to her book with a smile.

He was about to head in when her book catches his eye or maybe he just wanted to stay and talk to the one person he knew (kinda). "What are you reading?"

She looked up. "Essays on McLuhan."

The name elicited a response in Wally. He searched his brain. "He's the web-surfing guy from _Annie Hall_, right?"

"Yeah…wow. Most people don't even know he showed up in _Annie Hall_, let alone his name." She grinned at him, obviously impressed.

He shrugged but could not deny the slight ego-boost. "My aunt wrote her dissertation on him. All she would talk about during Thanksgiving."

"Nice. What does your aunt do?"

"Journalism…She _is_ the famous Iris West-Allen."

Linda's eyes grew incredibly wide.

"…seriously?"

"Yeah."

"Mon Dieu."

"Linda! Why are still out here?" A girl barges out into the lobby, her face flushed from the heat of the party.

"There are still people coming in…" Linda stutters out, pointing at Wally, "and I have reading to do." She insisted, obviously wanting to stay outside. The other girl glowered at her.

"Get your Asian butt inside."

"No."

"Linda!"

"Augh! Fine!" She stood up, placed her book into her backpack, threw the backpack on her shoulder and stormed into the gym.

He followed, debating whether he should just leave.

But, for some strange reason, he opted to follow in after her but as soon as he entered he gravitated to the walls.

His anger festered as he glared out into the atrium filled with bad music, desperate boys hoping for anything from a phone number to a one night stand, and attention-hungry girls who were –more or less –willing to respond.

But Wally, despite all of his years of flirting shamelessly, could not bring himself to dive into the fray. Instead, he stood steadfast by the punch table, glaring over his cup of water, certain that the bowl of beverages was spiked with any of the liquids whose glass bottles started to accumulate…

…and he hated every single minute of it.

"You ok?" a voice remarked from his left. He turned rapidly, disappointed in himself of being caught off guard by a civilian.

Linda stared back at him, worry written into her brows. She asked again.

"I'm fine." He grumbled and returned to his cup and glared at its contents as if water was the most interesting or offending thing in the world.

"Sure." She commented. She waited for him to respond but relinquished and stated, "Hey, how about this. You tell me what's bothering you – and I'm pretty sure it has to do with a girl, considering – and you keep me busy enough so that the jerk in the suit over at 10 o'clock will stop hitting on me."

Despite wanting to look completely disinterested, Wally sneaked a slight glance to his left and witnessed a guy drinking a beer, trying to grope a girl next to him while glaring daggers right back at Linda and then at him. When their eyes met and when Linda turned away for a moment, the guy in question raised his middle finger with a thrust.

Wally immediately agreed.

"Why don't you leave?" he asked her.

"I'm part of the Orientation Committee and I need to stay until the end to help with clean-up." She explains as she takes a sip from her water bottle.

"That sucks."

"No kidding." She sighed out her frustration. "He's hasn't stopped hitting on me even after I told him I have a boyfriend."

"…_You_ have a boyfriend?" he asked, truthfully, unable to believe that a man existed who would willingly be in a committed relationship

"Yes." She glances at him incredulously, recognizing his skepticism. "I do. But that's besides the point. What's going on with you? "

"Why do you care?" Wally asked, almost acerbic in his tone.

Linda simply stared back. "Manami told me to look after you and I have this tendency to stick my nose into things and fix them…try to, at least."

He relented. "Fine."

Linda smiled triumphantly, "So who is she?"

"My girlfriend."

She made a quick face of incredulity but returned to a stoic expression. "And she's the one who's been on your mind?"

"Yeah."

"How'd you get together?"

So – as the rest of the world danced into oblivion – he cumbersomely explained to her about how they met (…through the Track team), how they bickered and how, in the great and glorious end, he was able to obtain his spitfire. Yet…

"It's already November and nothing's changed since we met, except that we make out."

Her face deadpans at this. _'I did not need to hear that. But, hey, a guy - **this** guy - is actually willing to talk about his problems so just deal with it, Linda.' _

"Plus, she's been angry, like, all the time and it feels like she's avoiding me."

"Right. It's next week?"

He nodded.

"She's not avoiding you." Linda stated confidently. "Well, not because she doesn't like you anymore. She's probably planning a surprise party."

"...Really?"

"If she's as awesome as you claim she is, then yes, really."

"Sweeet!" He threw his fists into the air. But their shared joy was short-lived.

"Linda!"

The aforementioned guy with a full-blown Armani suit dared to saunter up to them, a beer in his hand.

"Hey, Randall. How are you?" Linda replied with a wry smile, straining to hide the subtle signs of discomfort.

"Why did you run off, hot stuff?" The slightly tipsy college student replies.

Linda simply smiled again while Wally, on the other hand, felt horrible chills crawl up his spine.

He can recognize a douchebag when he sees one. Then he suddenly knew why. His ability to recognize a douchebag stemmed off from being half of one himself. His heart grows heavy for a second time that day.

'_I am half of a douchebag.'_

"Randall, this is Wally. He's a prospective freshman." Linda interrupted his thoughts with an introduction that bordered on an attempt to escape.

Wally nearly extended his hand until Randall only gave him a nod of acknowledgement before instantly turning his attention back to Linda. Wally glowered_. 'No wonder Artemis hated me when we first met. God. Was I this horrible?'_

"So wanna go for a boat ride this weekend? My step-dad is letting me borrow his yacht."

Linda's discomfort seeped through into her facial expressions a percentage more. Her annoyance builds.

"Just as friends, of course," Randall added, half-heartedly.

He swaggered too and fro, obviously intoxicated but still apparently sober enough to make passes on taken women. She could feel his inebriated gaze travel up and down her body, a depraved smile lingering on his face.

It was a bad day to wear skinny jeans.

"November on Lake Michigan is awfully cold and it's still just us two?"

Randall suddenly looked offended. "What's wrong with that?"

"Randall, I have a boyfriend. I can't just-,"

"You're hanging out with this ginger midget."

"Dude. I'm taller than you." Wally commented, but the spoken truth went unnoticed.

"So giving a kid a tour counts as a flirtation?" She retorted, placing her hands on her hips.

"Sure."

"Randall," she said, emphatically, the entirety of her face focused on showing the full force of her annoyance. "What is wrong with you?"

Randall fumes, squeezing the beer bottle tight. He hoped it would crack under the pressure, to show his strength but his effete hands and metro-sexual hairstyle prevented him.

"I don't know why I even try with you. You're such a waste of time. There are a ton of other Asian girls out there. And you know what, you're a frigid, straight-laced attention whore. No one really likes you because you're so pushy and full of yourself. Stop thinking you're all that, you-!"

POW!

The room goes silent as people ceased whatever they were doing (chatting, dancing, grinding...the ones who were making out continued to do so). Their curious and shocked eyes all focused on Wally his fist still extended and red from its contact with jerkface and said-jerkface, out-cold and sprawled out on the wooden floor beneath him.

"Creep," Wally spat. He swiveled back towards Linda to see her hands covering her mouth in shock. They exchanged eye contact and without a word they both turned and ran out of the door.

They rushed through the lobby with heightened and awkward speed and as soon as they were out the door into the biting November air, they broke out into hysterical laughter.

"Thank you." Linda said to him earnestly. They begin to walk away from gym and into the heart of the campus.

"Oh, my pleasure." He scoffed. "That guy was a total jerk. Deserved a lot more, if you ask me." He paused to look at her in disappointment and confusion, "Why do you hang out with him?"

Linda shrugged her shoulders. "He tried so hard to get any girl to like him and just failed. I couldn't leave him alone, as much as I wanted to kick him in the balls. He's like an ugly pug puppy that just couldn't get-,"

"Hey, hey, hey, pugs are adorable."

"Oh ew. HOW? They're disgusting."

"Come on! You too?"

Linda raised an eyebrow.

"Artemis doesn't think much of pugs either."

"I like her." Linda huffed in hyperbolic consent.

"Me too." Wally grinned, unsure if he would be able to keep it from spreading all across his face.

His happiness was instantly contagious and Linda's beams back.

"So, is the MLU a contender in your great college search?"

"Nah, probably not. It's a great school and my folks would love for me to come but I just wanted to check it out since it's on Dick's list too. He'll probably go to Gotham U, though, since it's right at home."

"Wait. Dick as in Dick Grayson. As in the Paris Hilton of Gotham?"

Wally's eyes widened at her choice in cognomen for his friend. "I haven't heard that one before."

"Be glad people are too scared of Mr. Wayne's influence to use a different epithet. Could've been a lot worse with that name."

"No kidding." Wally laughed

"Since when were you two friends?"

"At...um…CAMP!"

"Which one?"

"Uh,"

"Oh, this is my dorm."

Relief and gratitude flooded Wally's mind and heart.

"I should get going then." He muttered.

"Is someone coming to pick you up?"

"Yeah… I told them I would meet them on the main road."

"I'll go with you."

"No!" he shouted, startling her. He slouched back to physically signal an apology. "It's really alright. Thanks for listening and helping out...even though you just ended up using me." He had to add.

"Hey! Don't say that you didn't need that. He is what you will become if you continue your ways!" She waggled a playfully accusing finger at him.

"I figured," Wally sighed, not returning the playful tone. "It really got to me that I'm just like him."

Silence burst through, leaving a trail of awkwardness and discomfort behind.

Linda's face softened as her heart broke, just slightly, at his statement.

"I didn't mean-," She shook her head. "You might have given off that vibe. But that's not who you are. And I'm sorry that it took me a while to realize that…You're 100 times whatever he is because you actually protected me rather than forced yourself onto me."

"And you're more fun when you loosen up."

"Thanks," she replied, demurely, "Well," her regular expression and tone returns, "Wherever you go, I'm sure you'll do well. You have the potential, Mr. West, you really do."

"You're probably the only one besides Artemis who believes that."

Wally walked off before she can respond; leaving her with the bewildered face that consumed most of her facial expressions that day.

* * *

A/N:

I'm going to make it a point in having at least one reference in each chapter. The last scene of the first chapter referenced the split-screen scene in _When Harry Met Sally_. This chapter has the privilege in referencing the great William Messner-Loebs, a prominent comic book writer who actually created the character of Linda Park.

Hope you're liking it so far and that it's not too terribly confusing or long. It _is _pretty long.


	3. Day 4

**DAY 4 - Wand'ring Bark**

The year is 2013. Tokyo, Japan.

* * *

MAY 7, 14:25 JST, TUESDAY

"WHO'S UP FOR SUSHI!?" Wally screams from the top of his lungs as his mentor joins him by the large genetically enhanced dinosaur they just defeated in the streets of Tokyo.

"Sorry, Wally, got a date with Iris." The Flash gives his nephew a sad smile. "Why not call Robin to come over?"

Wally's arms dropped by his side, dejectedly. "He's going by Nightwing now and he's keeping himself busy with crime rates in Blüdhaven." He answers bitterly. "Plus, there's been a rift growing."

"Artemis?"

"Is on a mission with Green Arrow."

"Superboy?"

"On a training exercise with Miss Martian. No one really has the time to fly over to Tokyo to grab a bite a plate of awesomeness."

Barry places a comforting hand on Wally's shoulder. "Sorry, but I skipped out on your aunt for far too long."

"I know. I'll just grab a bite and run back sometime soon."

With a nod, Barry speeds off in a red blaze, leaving Wally alone in his frustration.

Wally quickly changes into his civvies and stands in line at the closest sushi conveyor belt restaurant. He knows that he could have just sped around to find a more available restaurant but he just doesn't feel like it.

'_Having a meal on your own with your thoughts about dying friendships is fine, right?' _He thinks to himself as he approaches the counter.

"Tēburu ya kauntā?" the small Japanese woman at the counter asks him.

"Ummm..."

"Tēburu wa kekkōdesu," a voice laughs from behind him. Wally looks at his savior and Linda Park smiles back.

"Park?"

"What's up, West. I hope you don't mind sharing a table. It's busy and we should play catch up."

Wally flashes a smile full of gratitude and excitement. They were soon seated at a booth and both eagerly watch the coming miniature plates of delectable and sumptuous sushi on the conveyor belt.

"So why are you in Tokyo?" Linda asks, grabbing a plate of tuna.

"Uhh...family trip! For, um, Spring Break." He nervously takes a plate of salmon.

"You came to Tokyo for Spring Break? While you're still in high school?"

"Yeah," he mutters with half-confidence.

Linda stares at him skeptically and then bows her head to say a quick prayer.

Wally was _not _expecting that. He purses his lips, unsure how to respond to her sudden act of religious piety. Then her head rises and immediately returns to the conversation.

"Where are your folks then?" She pours soy sauce into two small dishes and hands one to him.

"Off on their own. They're not big sushi fans." He takes it from her, graciously.

"Gasp! But it's the best stuff on earth." Linda's shocked face elicits a shared laugh.

Then, Wally asks: "So... you're a Christian?"

Linda tilts her head, unsure of how to respond. She decides to go the less heated and controversial route with a raise of her brows. "Yeah. Most Koreans are. I guess it's more cultural than anything else. But having something reliable to fall back on, you know, like an all-powerful God that connects the multi-verses...it can be kind of nice." She dipped a piece into her small dish of soy sauce and popped it into her mouth.

"Yeah..." Wally sighs.

That worries her. She expects him to jump into debate how science is what bound the multi-verses. Instead, he shakes her up with an uncharacteristic doleful visage.

"Something up…as per usual?" She asks after she chewed and swallowed.

"Not really," he shrugs and lies.

Linda glares at him. "Spill."

Wally gets defensive. "No," he insists.

"West." She persists.

"Park." He resists.

Linda defiantly slouches back into the booth. "Fine." She pulls out her smart phone. "I'll just email Artemis."

"..."

She smiles as he glowers.

"Damn you."

"Love you too, hon. So you gonna spill your guts to Counselor Park or not?" She nearly sings as she returns her phone to her purse.

"Can't tell anyone, alright?"

"Who am I going to tell?"

"Alright! Alright! It's just...precaution."

She waits for him to continue.

He leans into his hand. "Well, you know what you said about something reliable to fall back on? My team was exactly that. But now, not so much. Now, everything's changing." He slouches back with a muted sigh. "I feel like no one cares about the same things anymore. Not to mention that the profession constantly puts us in danger and it constantly burns me out. I don't know if I can handle it, to be honest." He clumsily secured one nagi with his chopsticks and stuffed it into his mouth.

"Wait. Since when was being on a track team a dangerous profession?"

Caught off guard, Wally blurts out, "I'm not at liberty to say."

Linda gives him a half-smile. "At least - well, I'm guessing, you still have Artemis, right?"

Wally nods. "What about you? Still going strong with Rick?"

Linda sighs and obtains her fourth plate. "I guess? It's been weird, trying to do long distance. And Manami isn't there to help me out because, and you're not going to believe this, but she's been going out with Randall."

"NO!" Wally replies, with true yet hyperbolic shock.

"I know! And it's been a whole year. It's ridiculous. She's too good for him but she feels like she won't be able to find anyone else who's interested." She angrily chews another nagi, placing her 6th plate on her growing pile.

"But he's interested in _everybody_." He placed his 9th plate on his stack.

"I know." Linda grumbles, her shoulders tensing.

Linda continues with the status of her life, explaining that MLU let out for summer break by the first week of May so she decided to make a trip out to Korea to visit family. She landed in Tokyo for layover and her flight to Incheon would leave in 20 hours.

"That's a really long layover."

"Planned it that way. Needed to get my sushi quota filled."

Wally smirks gleefully in agreement as he acquires his 13th plate.

"Concerning your team, do you think that it's worth staying on?" she asks after her 8th plate. "I mean, you only have – what- two months of school left and you'll be off to college. So it basically comes down to the matter of whether or not you're willing to maintain those relationships and whether you think staying on the 'team' is the best way to do it."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you still want to keep those friendships right?"

"Absolutely! They're practically family."

"But you don't have to necessarily have to stop being friends with them if you're off the team, right? It sounds like being on the team is what is giving you the most trouble and is putting strain on you and your relationships and that's probably because of everything's changing at a pace you can't keep up with."

Wally flinches at the pacing comment.

She continues, "So quit. And foster the friendships you have in a different setting. Go along with that change you're trying so desperately to stop but now you can do at a pace that's right for you."

Wally blinks a couple times, registering her suggestions.

"It's not that simple," he says.

"I know. But being burned out is going to kill you and soon enough you'll get so upset with everyone that you'll blow up and you'll end up leaving them anyways."

He frowns. Her advice is almost _too _good. "Did this happen to you?" he asks.

Linda frowns back. "...maybe."

He releases a chuckle which augments Linda's scowl.

"Look. Just do what you think works best for you and prepare yourself for whatever may come." Linda ended.

"Thanks."

By then, they've eaten their full.

He offers to pay but she refuses. They go Dutch.

* * *

A/N: So yeah, I'm sorry that this took so long and that this is so short but life got in the way but I thought, hey, the events can actually take place today! So, maybe, there is a cute red-head and a Korean-American sitting in a sushi restaurant, talking together about track and friendships...who knows?

No obvious pop culture reference today, except for, oh you know, Godzilla.

Also, I'll be on summer vacation after this week so I'll be more consistent with updates!

Thanks so much for reading and please rate and review.


	4. Day 8

**DAY 8 – To the Edge of Doom**

The year is 2017. Metropolis. Apocalypse.

* * *

"Ok! We're getting out of here!" Perry White projects loudly yet calmly.

His words circle through her ears. Linda can feel, with an aching fear, her mind fade into a sheer consciousness as she witnesses large humanoid aliens fly past the building.

The monsters wreak absolute havoc. Large, disgusting and terrifying, their powers worryingly resemble the powers of the feared and worshiped Justice League.

Apocalypse has arrived.

Again.

Then suddenly, a great and shattering scream explodes into the building, causing everyone to scream and duck as glass shards career over their heads.

"Everyone get underground!" Lois Lane shouts as the employees of the Daily Planet run about in an anarchic frenzy.

Explosions and the rumble of disaster overpower any other sound. "Get the kids out first!" Linda orders, guiding a group of 5th graders from a field trip.

Seriously, worst field trip ever.

She pushes them through the stampede of panicked reporters towards the stairs. But as soon as she sees everyone rush, crowd, push and careen towards the staircase. Linda thinks for a second and quickly opts for the other option and forcibly guides the children to the service elevator hidden at the end of a long hallway and jabs the call button furiously.

Her whole body jolts as she deepens her clutch on the sweaty palm of a crying schoolgirl. Linda bends down to hold her to her own rapidly beating chest.

The elevator dings.

Linda picks up the one schoolgirl and whirls behind to look for her boss, who, thankfully, is running towards them.

The building shakes. The doors open.

She quickly forces the children inside and pushes the "L" button. "Lois, hurry!"

Lois Lane slips into the elevator just as the doors close. The veteran reporter pants from exhaustion and turns to Linda. "Babe, remind me that you are getting paid for this internship once this thing is over."

Linda forces a falsely confident smile. "Been through apocalypses before?"

"I think it's a requirement for being Superman's girlfrie-."

They drop.

As the children scream for their lives while they rise to the top of the elevator, Lois and Linda manage to grab onto them and force them between the decorated roof and their own bodies to prepare for the impact.

Linda prays, more earnestly than she's ever done in her whole life.

And God answers.

The doors rip open and a Green Lantern that Linda didn't recognize surrounds them with an emerald-colored force field and grows it until the elevator splits open and its pieces fall to the ground. As it crashes into the earth without them, Linda releases a labored sigh of relief, still clutching to several schoolgirls.

He gets them to ground level. "I suggest you all go underground. The Justice League is about to destroy the mothership. We can't guarantee what will follow."

He flies off.

Linda peers around the disheveled lobby of the Daily Planet. She sees people lying in and strewn at the entrance of the staircases with people still forcing their way out. The children would have been trampled by the stampede if she had taken them down the stairs.

While relieved that her decision turned out to be the right one, distress and genuine fear for her life and for others filled every pore of her body. She needs to get the children out of here.

Linda is about to run off with Lois and the kids until she hears a distinct "Linda."

She turns around and searches for the owner of the call. "…West?"

"Linda!"

There is a blaze of yellow and Impulse suddenly stands besides her. With his headgear half singed, she easily recognizes him.

"Bart!?"

He breathes laboriously and whispers out to her through clenched teeth and desperation. "Linda…Why weren't you in Central City?" he coughs.

"I have an internship here…Bart, wha-? You're hurt!" She notices his bleeding abdomen and reaches for it.

"I've been –ugh"

"Bart, don't exert yourself." Linda orders sternly and gently places one hand on his shoulder as the other hovered over his abdomen.

"Don't… worry…" he manages to say. "It'll heal quicker than most."

Linda frowns but leads him to a piece of a fallen building and has him sit down on a large section of debris. She pulls off her dirtied cardigan up over her head, down, then off her arms. Flipping the sweater inside out, Linda turns it into make-shift gauze and presses it against Bart's abdomen. She turns to see if the kids are kids and watches with slight reassurance as Perry joined Lois in leading the children to the underground Metra stations.

"Linda…"

She turns to him and affectionately strokes his hair, but then lifts the sweater to examine his wound.

"Bart, it's getting worse." She stands abruptly, worry just palpable on her face. "You need help."

He winces, "I don't think you'll be able to find anyone." He breathes heavily as he reaches for her hand.

She holds his hand with a soft grip as she gazes down at him.

"I'm just glad I found you," he smiles weakly. "I was…looking for you."

Then, a great clap of thunder sounds about them.

"As have I," a deep and billowing voice rolls about them.

Linda protectively steps in front of Bart as mist formed and gathered, grounded clouds twisting into each other until distinct figure was born from them.

"Linda Jasmine Kyungah Park," its voice continues, like the sound of trumpets and storms.

She waits until she can see the hooded form of grey and green, bathing in a heavenly yet ominous light, rise from the mist.

She cannot answer.

Her eyes simply burn as the gaze of the Spectre envelops reality. She can hear Bart call out to her but it is in an utter distance.

"Your death in his world instigated this calamity. And now, he calls for you."

"Who?" she finally asks.

At length, the figure responds, "Wallace West."

The Spectre points to a man robed in scarlet who appears in the arena of cloud, kneeling. His face rises and his embittered gaze met hers.

"Linda."

As soon as her name left his lips, in that moment, she feels an all-consuming force immerse every miniscule cell of her body.

She feels a wave, a force, and a passion with a width and breadth far beyond her comprehension and all that she _could_ comprehend was that in one swift moment, one swift decision, she could easily lose herself in that force.

She feels frightened.

And she hates every second of it. At least, she thinks she does. The idea of not being in control, of the possibility that an _emotion_ could make her feel so powerless and yet so _whole_ – unnerved her.

She gasps.

Linda turns to the otherworldly figure and insistently asks, "Why."

He remains silent as others begin to join them in the mist. Her brows knit together.

"What is this and who are you?" she asks the angel, using all of her will to mask her fear with conjured brashness.

"I am Spectre," the figure responds in soft thunder. "I am the judge. He, the perpetrator. You, the instigator."

"And them?" Linda dares to ask further, sweeping her arm about her to those in the mist beside her.

Two Richard Graysons.

Two Iris Wests.

Two Bartholomew Allens.

And Artemis, alone in the haze.

Linda notes the absence of the recently late Barry Allen. '_Theirs must have died too.'_

"They are the players. The witnesses. The factors. This…" Spectre's ghostly voice reverberates in and through her consciousness, "…is his trial."

She is not even sure if it is _her _consciousness anymore. So she anchors herself to an idea coupled with an emotion: _This whole ordeal is beyond me and I am upset. _

"Trial for what?" she questions.

"For causing Armageddon on your world."

"How would he cause Armageddon?"

"In his world, you are his lover."

A pang strikes through her.

"You are his beacon. But the Linda Park of his world perished and in an misguided attempt to retrieve her and a misuse of the Force that bestows him his powers, allowed this world to be more vulnerable and probable to the doom it faces now."

Linda glowers as she analyzes all that she's been given and internally cringes at the possible emotions Artemis must endure.

This is _far _too much drama for her to handle but she has to do something.

"What is my role, then," she mutters, "In his judgment?"

"To stop him before his decision consumes both worlds and to be judged as murderer."

"So this can be stopped?" Linda asks. "_He_ can stop this?"

"But he does not wish it. Especially now that he has seen you."

"But you're the one who brought me to him," Linda asserts.

"No. His desire was far beyond what I could control."

"So you called for me because people failed to _control_ a man in grief?! And you think that I have the caliber to?"

The great ghost answers, "You would be surprised."

Linda's gaze remains painstakingly low. Her lips taut and tense, she descends into thought and solemnity. She looks up, finally, with conviction and a flare of subdued rage in her eyes.

"I promise nothing."

Spectre gestures towards Wallace West – a Wally she doesn't even know truly, signaling her to approach.

She glides towards him, through the fog. She thinks about what to say and, more importantly, how to say it. She suppresses her instinctual desire to grab him by the neck and force her advice, her holier-than-thou wisdom and tenets through his ears and down his throat. But that won't reach his head in actuality – she knows that.

She's relying on the possibility that this Wally is like the one she had come to know so well.

In fact, she's betting the lives of billions on it.

She kneels before him and so very gently calls him a 'Jackass.'

* * *

The Wallace West of a different Earth stares at her in shock.

"You put the entire Universe and then some at risk of imploding just because you couldn't get over your version of a happy ending?" she whispers to him as he continues to stare. "Do you really think that – that _your_ Linda – would appreciate that?"

"I never meant for Doomsday. I just thought that anything would be worth it if I could see you again." He pauses. "I can't live without you, Linda."

His eyes plead. But Linda can only sigh; she can see something cloud his gaze.

"She's not me. I'm not her. And you _can_ live without her. You have been."

"But the idea of being with you again made me want to-."

"West!" she insists, sternly but tenderly. "I refuse to quantify human life. And I thought you did too, especially as a super because to you guys, every life is worth saving. But sometimes – no, often, things happen that are inevitable and we have accept that. Except for injustices, of course."

He smirks but sadly. The clouds are slowly drifting away, scales slowly peeling.

She finally smiles sadly back, then braces herself with a deep breath and continues. The words roll off her tongue.

"We're not gods. You're not a god. We have limits. On knowledge and power. No matter how 'meta' or 'super' you might be. So we're bound to make bad decisions with bad consequences. Every choice we make will have its repercussions and we become better people by dealing with those repercussions, come what may.

"But I'm not your teacher, West. And in this world, I'm not your lover. You don't have listen to any of this. But is it alright if I think of us as friends, even though you're from your world and I'm from mine?"

"Of course," he whispers earnestly, his eyes still pleading but steadily more clear.

A good sign.

"Friends," she mutters with a controlled force, "Have the right to respectfully confront each other. And that's what I'm doing now. I don't want to condemn you. I don't want to judge you. But honestly, I don't think that grief suits Wally West – no matter which Earth he was born into."

She puts her hand to his cheek and he holds it there. Linda can feel the chill of his flesh against hers. Each of his pores against each of her nerves.

She stares into the sumptuous green softness of the eyes of this stranger, this friend. They are no longer overcast, just simply forlorn.

"But being a wisearce and a hero does," she adds, matter-of-factly. "So," she lowers her hand onto his shoulder. "What do _you _think you should do?"

Wally West still looks at her. He envelops her with a gaze that screams for reciprocation from her.

She immediately quells the feeling erupting inside of her. She pushes it down and stamps it out without a second thought or a tear.

But she does rise and softly places her lips on his forehead. The only thing she can allow herself to do.

Wally West grabs her free arm as he buries his head into the earth.

"Linda," he quietly sobs.

She can feel herself on the verge of breaking and forces to look up at the darkness of the heavens.

"Go,"

* * *

Linda sits on a bus stop bench, a shock blanket over her shoulders. The rest of the bus stop is nonexistent, obviously, like most of the block around it. A distinct filter of dust, grime and sadness occupies the air while rescue teams clear through rubble and assist victims into ambulances.

Linda watches it all. Simply watches.

She watches the _gift _the other Earth's Wally left for her. At least, she assumes he left it for her. But it doesn't belong to her.

She watches the _gift_ embrace Artemis in the burning tears of reunion. Grayson kneels beside them. An Atlantean individual watches them from a distance, ambivalence exuding from him.

She watches.

"Is this seat taken, Miss?"

Linda looks up and smiles at Bart. His entire torso is wrapped in bandages. Bruises and a large infectious smile cover his face.

She taps the space besides her and he sits down eagerly then rests his weary head on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry."

"Now why on earth would _you _be sorry?" Linda asks, keeping her voice up in spirits.

"Here, Wally never got the chance to love you," Bart whispers. "He and Art would split up as the Reachwouldriseinpowerandyouwould'vebeencloserfrien dsbythen and-,"

"Bart. It's okay," she smiles and reassures him by taking his hand. "Plus, you're talking too fast. I didn't get _half_ of that."

"But-,"

"I don't want tied to a certain outcome, especially one like that. Your cousin would probably hate that too and possibly destroy a friendship that I valued greatly. But I do have to ask…"

"Yeah, what!?" Bart responds with quick fervor.

She chuckles at his enthusiasm. "Why look out for me? I'm not related to you, am I?"

A large smile breaks from his lips.

"Well, when you grew old, you take care of a little boy whose parents die when he's eleven years old and you make him _happy _even while the world suffers around them. So in return, I...promised to protect you. Simple as that."

* * *

Linda holds Artemis as the heroine runs into her shoulders.

"Linda…I-,"

"Art, this changes nothing," Linda whispers so that West – though he stands yards away, preoccupied with reuniting with his comrades – cannot possibly hear. "What you and Wally had and _have_ was good. Nothing changes. That whole thing was just an emotional mess that brought West back along with unnecessary anxieties. So I think it's best if we forget the whole thing."

"You two obviously know something that we don't," a voice, this time earthy and gritty, startles them and Linda looks straight into the eyes of a menace, dark.

* * *

Linda glowers, but respectfully (if that's possible). She wraps the shock blanket tighter around her, hoping that it would indicate that she was in no condition to be interrogated.

The Dark Knight glowers back.

Probably won't work with him.

"You really have nothing to say?" he questions, his voice like lion eating gravel.

'_Throat cancer?' _Linda humors herself. She sighs in actuality and says, "I had nothing to do with the West's miraculous reappearance or the disappearance of the alien invasion." She adds a "Sir" for good measure. "I'm just an elitist culture snob from Chicago here for an internship."

"And I'm just capable of pushing you until the last inch of your life if you don't talk."

"Sir, if I wanted to get interrogated, I'd go visit my grandmother. _She _scares me. However, as much as I do respect you and what you have been doing in Gotham, _I _do not _fear _you."

"And why is that?" he snarls back.

"Because I know you use BVLGARI shampoo et gel douche," she ends with a convincing French accent and a victorious smirk on her face. "Honestly, I thought you were more the custom brand type."

* * *

A/N:

Hey, guys! Sorry that it's taking me so long to update. It's been a pretty tough summer. Was the maid of honor for my 20-year-old friend with no other bridesmaids to help me as I tried to remain vigilant against all the family drama and dealing with Bridezilla herself.

Anyways, FEEL THE SAPPINESS. Gah, I'm seriously always so dissatisfied with how my chapters always turn out but hey, what happens happens.

Culture reference is the beginning scene of the chapter which mimics a scene from the recent 'Man of Steel' film which starred Henry Cavill as Superman.

So, does anyone know how our Wally returned?


End file.
